Neighbors of Pierre Ny St-Amand could never have imagined him committing the irreparable. They hope to better understand what prompted this father to rush a bus into a daycare center, causing several victims.
The man behind the wheel of the bus that crashed into the Ste-Rose educational daycare on Wednesday did not have the profile of a troubled man, several of his neighbors told The Press.
According to our information, Pierre Ny St-Amand studied at Montmorency College in Laval. The 51-year-old driver had been employed by the Société de transport de Laval (STL) for about ten years. He has two children with his wife. He has no criminal record and was not known to the police.
Originally from Cambodia and an orphan, he would have had a difficult childhood, strewn with pitfalls, said former classmates on Wednesday. At the time, the director of student affairs at Collège Montmorency had “taken him under his wing”, said one of them.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Thanh-Ry Tran
“I said to myself: it’s impossible that it’s him,” said Thanh-Ry Tran, a neighbor of Mr. Ny St-Amand, met at his home on Wednesday. Mr. Tran and his wife had a good neighborly relationship with the accused and his family, he said.
They shared meals once or twice a year, helped each other, took part in their children’s parties. The spouse of Mr. Ny St-Amand used to take their daughter by bringing hers to school, he says. “How could this happen? He is a calm, kind man, who does his business, he talks to everyone. I still can’t believe it. »
” Why did he do that ? »
In the house next door, the speech was similar. “How can a person with children do that? wondered Nader Abou-Said. There were no symptoms, something abnormal, a divorce, problems in the family. He’s been a driver for years. Why did he do that ? How could my neighbor have gone crazy in a second? »
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Nader Abu Said
A few doors further, the family of Sara-Maria Chehade has a courtyard adjacent to that of the family of Mr. Ny St-Amand. “Honestly, we are in shock,” she said. They are super nice. »
We never heard them scream, they take family walks in the neighborhood, we see him playing with his children, he put them on a swing. It’s a super calm, collaborative family, they are not isolated, they receive people.
Sara-Maria Chehade, who lives near Pierre Ny St-Amand
Just recently, during a snowstorm, M’s fatherme Chehade shoveled his driveway at the same time as Mr. Ny St-Amand. “They said ‘hello’ to each other, and there was nothing wrong,” she recalls.
” I can not believe it. I say to myself: if you have problems, go get help. But don’t do that to children, ”said a man who lives close to Pierre Ny St-Amand.
“He is a discreet man. We didn’t even know he was a bus driver, so even less if he had mental health problems, ”said a passerby, who lives in the same street, earlier in the day.
With the collaboration of Henri Ouellette-Vézina, The Press
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